Everything you need to know about measuring ounces, from terms and origin to how many ounces in a pound (and other helpful measurements!)
There are 16 ounces in a pound. This is the same regardless of what you’re measuring, because both ounces and pounds are methods of measuring weight. So whether the question is “how many ounces are in a pound of sugar”, “butter”, or even “gold”, the answer is always 16 ounces!
What Is An Ounce?
And ounce is an Imperial unit of measurement. An ounce is equal to 28.349 grams (g), or 0.0283 kilograms (Kg).
The term ounce comes from the Roman term “uncia.” An uncia was 1/12 of a roman copper bar that was used as a tool to measure the length of an inch and the weight of an ounce. That worked well enough for the Romans who ruled much of the “known” world for centuries. An inch remained 1/12 of a foot, but an ounce would not forever remain 1/12 of a pound thanks to our friends in England. Standardizing the medieval wool trade was the impetus to change ounces in a pound to 16. It was really just a matter of math. 16 is easier to divide! Split a pile of wool in half to get 8 ounces. Split it again to get 4 ounces, and yet again to get 2.
What Is A Pound?
Pounds are also an Imperial unit of measurement. A pound is equal to 453.592 grams (g), or 0.4536 kilograms (Kg)
The term pound derives from the Roman unit of measure “libra pondo“, which meant a pound by weight. The English term pound came from the second word pondo in Latin. So, why are pounds abbreviated “lbs”? The L is taken from the first word Libra, and the P from Pondo.
Of course, today almost no one outside the USA uses the pound. Only the US, Liberia, and Myanmar still use the pound. The metric system was introduced in France in 1795 and most nations standardized on it sometime during the 19th Century.
But the English like their traditions, so they kept some of the old measurements at least for informal use. In the United Kingdom a “stone” is still 14 pounds. Why? Well, they like to use that as an easy way to approximate people’s weight. 2 stones equals 1 quarter, 4 quarters equals a hundred weight, and 20 hundred weights equals a long ton (2,240 pounds). Tradition dies hard, so let’s not even go there on why an English pint has 20 ounces vs 16 in the USA. Guess the Brits just like their beers large.
So, there is everything you might want to know about how many ounces are in a pound. The simple answer is 16 ounces in a pound, but how we got to where we are today can be fascinating.
Ounces To Pounds Chart
This comprehensive chart is your quick guide to many common conversions when it comes to measuring ounces to pounds and grams!
| oz | lbs | g |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.0625 (1/16) | 28 |
| 2 | 0.125 (1/8) | 57 |
| 3 | 0.1875 | 85 |
| 4 | 0.25 (1/4) | 113 |
| 5 | 0.3125 | 142 |
| 6 | 0.375 (3/8) | 170 |
| 7 | 0.4375 | 198 |
| 8 | 0.5 (1/2) | 227 |
| 9 | 0.5625 | 255 |
| 10 | 0.625 (5/8) | 283 |
| 11 | 0.6875 | 312 |
| 12 | 0.75 (3/4) | 340 |
| 13 | 0.8125 | 368 |
| 14 | 0.875 (7/8) | 397 |
| 15 | 0.9375 | 425 |
| 16 | 1 | 454 |
| 32 | 2 | 907 |
| 48 | 3 | 1361 |
| 64 | 4 | 1814 |
james bleess says
Wonderful historical layout of pound weight. I’m lost on what a 14 pound stone has to any ones weight. Curling uses stone weight, one stone (rock in USA) weighs one stone! Catchy, huh.
But! a pound of gold is much lighter than a pound of bread, butter or sugar! Ahh, and…. the other wing of the same bird, an ounce of gold is heavier than an ounce of bread, butter or sugar.